Year of Hell
by InsaneArtGurl
Summary: I've decided this episode needs a bit of tweaking...big time JC, you've been warned.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: You leave your things lying on the floor, Paramount, I play with them. You sue, you get nothing because I'm poor._

AN: This chapter follows the original episode pretty closely…others won't so much. I'm not changing the episode, so much as adding in extra scenes where I think a J/C relationship could take place (although I plan to change one big thing at the end…mwahahahaha:) ). Anyway, bear with me if you've more or less memorized this ep like I have, and big thanks to Chakoteya's website for the episode transcripts!

**Year of Hell**

"Now…how the hell does it work?"

Kathryn Janeway listened intently as Seven of Nine and Harry Kim explained their new mapping system. It'd been quite a blow, not having a trained stellar cartographer on board when they'd been unwillingly pulled into the Delta Quadrant, but who could've foreseen the need for one on a three-week mission to grab a Maquis ship?

"By my estimates this trajectory will eliminate five years from your journey," Seven concluded, emphasizing the number five. Despite her continuing struggle with being human again, she was eager to be useful to this ship and hoped Captain Janeway would be please with her work.

"_Our_ journey. Nice work, Seven!" The perpetually happy little Talaxian embraced her shoulders with his hands and gave them a bit of a squeeze.

"That region of space we're about to enter," B'Elanna said after studying the map for a moment. "It looks like it has a lot of M-class planets."

"It does. Spatial grid zero zero five. Primary species the Zahl."

"What do we know about this species?" Tuvok inquired.

"Technologically advanced but nonconfrontational. Their resistance Quotient is quite low." Janeway bit her bottom lip a bit. Maybe she should explain to Seven again why others might not be particularly interested in hearing how resistant other species were to the Borg.

"Thank you all for coming," Chakotay said, pleased with the little groundbreaking ceremony he'd suggested. "We've got a lot of work to do, so-"

"_I'd_ like to say a few words if I may." Everyone groaned inwardly a little as the Doctor began his prepared speech. _The Emergency Medical Hologram should've been an Emergency Admiral Hologram,_ Kathryn thought wryly to herself, suppressing a chuckle. _He's certainly long-winded enough to be one._

"Under the category of Best of Times I invite you all to recall the moment when I-"

The rocking of the ship cut the Doctor off and the attentive lieutenant on the bridge kept him quiet when he immediately called the captain.

Kathryn turned to Chakotay and mouthed, "Oh!" with wide eyes, sharing with him the briefest moment of joy at being rescued from listening to the Doctor prattle on before he told the lieutenant, "On our way," and gestured toward the door. Everyone eagerly followed suit, leaving the Doctor alone to reluctantly make his way to Sickbay.

* * *

The senior staff and Seven all shared a turbo lift to the bridge. It was a somewhat somber silence as each wondered what random alien was firing on them without provocation now. 

"Well," Chakotay said, hoping to lighten the mood a bit, "I guess the downside is we'll still have to let the Doctor finish his speech later."

Harry snorted back laughter and Tom gave a mock groan. Tuvok raised a Vulcan eyebrow and Seven made a mental note to ask Captain Janeway later why everyone dreaded the Doctor's speech when free speech was one of their major values. However, Chakotay failed to notice all of this because he was lost in the broad smile and sparkling blue eyes he earned from Kathryn.

* * *

"They're firing on us, Captain," Ensign Lang reported as the senior staff shuffled out onto the bridge. 

Tuvok reached his station almost immediately, as it was closest to the life. ": It's a small vessel, fifteen life forms aboard. Low warp capacity, limited armaments. They pose no threat."

" Open a channel," Kathryn said, standing front and center on her bridge. "Good day, sir. Have we offended you in some way?"

A very angry man appeared on the view screen. "You will reverse course immediately. This region is in dispute. You have no business in Krenim space."

Krenim? Why did that sound familiar? "I was under the impression we were entering Zahl territory."

The angry man became angrier. "The Zahl have no legitimate claim here. They have taken what is ours. Reverse course or be destroyed."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow to her first officer. "With all due respect, unless you've got something a little bigger in your torpedo tubes I'm not turning around. But I'm certainly willing to discuss this issue with you."

Everyone could clearly imagine the Krenim officer jumping up and down like a spoiled child when her doesn't get his way, as he shouted, "No discussion No compromise!" and cut the comm line."They are in retreat," Tuvok stated.

"His bark's obviously worse than his bite," Chakotay said, somewhat amused by what had just happened.

Kathryn still had the name Krenim nagging at her. _Where have I heard of the Krenim before?_ "He seems rather intent. Let's go to yellow alert. Maintain our course. Maybe the Zahl can give us some answers." She headed for her ready room to do a little research.

* * *

"Krenim," Kathryn muttered out loud. "It took be a little bit to find, but I did. They're the species that caused Kes to jump back in time." 

Chakotay blinked and nodded slowly. How could he forget? He'd had nightmares for a week straight after reading Kes's report that both B'Elanna and Kathryn were killed sometime in the future.

_Voyager_ was on its way to rendezvous with the Zahl. Kathryn had spent the hour or so between the Krenim "attack" and contacting the Zahl in her ready room. After speaking briefly with the Zahl representative and establishing coordinates to meet at, she asked Chakotay to join her and left the bridge with Tuvok.

"But in that time line, Kes was still on board, we never encountered the Borg, and the Krenim had more powerful weapons, if this morning's incident was any indication. Guess that means B'Elanna and I are safe."

"Must've been your haircut that changed everything."

Kathryn laughed into her coffee as she picked the cup up. "Good. If that's settled, we can talk about something that gives me less of a headache. Like next week's duty roster." Chakotay knew Kathryn well enough to know she was referring to her near-infamous dislike for time travel.

* * *

"As long as you travel in Zahl territory you travel among friends. I apologize for your mishap with the Krenim." The Zahl ambassador was a very friendly and seemingly good-natured man. Kathryn had a feeling she was going to like him very much. 

"It was hardly traumatic," she said, waving it off, "but I am curious. The Krenim claim this region as their own."

"The Krenim dominated this space many years ago," the ambassador explained. "They possessed deadly weapons based on temporal science, and it kept them in power for a long time. But a generation ago we fought the Krenim. We defeated them and took back the planets that they had annexed, dismantled their military forces." Chakotay felt the last bit of anxiety and fear for his friends' lives leave him as he heard this.

"Their ships still wander our territory making grandiose claims," the ambassador continued. "Don't let them trouble you. Now, tell me about Voyager. A single ship alone, half a galaxy from home. How exciting for you."

Kathryn smiled and opened her mouth to reply when Ensign Kim broke in over the comm.

"Bridge to Captain. Sorry to interrupt but the Krenim vessel is back. They're demanding to speak with you."

Kathryn gestured toward the door and they all filed out of the briefing room. The same angry man as before greeted them. "Hello again," Kathryn said politely."You've ignored our warnings, and now you consort with our enemy." Well wasn't this getting off to a nice start?

"Leave this space or I'll seize your vessel and send you home in a cargo container!" Kathryn's new friend shouted at her view screen before she could object.

"Gentlemen, please," she placed a reassuring hand on the Zahl's chest and gave him a calming, but firm look. She then turned back to the Krenim. "Believe me, we're not conspiring against you."

Harry suddenly saw something odd on his console. "Captain, there's a spatial distortion heading towards us. Whatever it is, it's huge. Five light years across and it's expanding."

The distortion had appeared on the tactical console almost the same time it had on ops. "Tracking its origin. A vessel near the Zahl home world."

"What!" Kathryn's calming gaze lost its effect on the Zahl.

"It appears to be a massive build-up of temporal energy. Some kind of space-time shock wave," Tuvok reported neutrally.

"Tom."

Tom Paris already knew what his captain would want, but he couldn't do that for her. "It's destabilizing our warp field. I've lost engines."

Kathryn looked over to her Zahl friend and then her first officer. "Shields to full. Secure primary systems," she said as she walked to the railing and grabbed tight. "All hands, brace for impact! "

_Voyager_ barely rocked as the shockwave passed through them. No one noticed the Zahl ambassador vanish or the tiny Krenim ship grow into a powerful warship. In fact, no one _could_ remember the Zahl or the smaller Krenim ship because there was no Zahl or weaker Krenim to remember – their timeline had just been altered in such a way that neither had ever existed.


	2. Chapter 2

"…but the only answer I get is weapons fire." Kathryn's blue eyes were blazing at the Krenim commander.

"State your identity," he said, sounding bored.

"Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voya-"

"And your reason for violating our borders," he interrupted. _He's following a script_, Kathryn realized. _He doesn't care who we are or why we're here, he's already made up his mind what to do with us._

"We're simply trying to get home. If you'd kindly allow us to pass through." No one on the bridge thought that was about to happen anytime soon.

"No. You will submit to the Krenim Imperium. I would prefer to seize your vessel before it is too badly damaged. Surrender now and I will forego the execution of your crew."

_Oh, well how generous of you_, Kathryn bitterly thought at him. "I don't respond well to threats," she stated, holding her chin up a little higher.

Whether it was the way she said it or the look in her eyes, something finally caught the Krenim commander and he sat up. "Then prepare to be boarded." He cut the comm line.

"All hands," Kathryn said, taking her chair, "battle stations." She turned to Chakotay. "This is turning into the Week of Hell."

* * *

"Come in. Sorry about the mess." Kathryn didn't need to turn around to know who had so quickly come behind her.

Chakotay smiled at Kathryn's back as she attempted to clean up her ready room. "You should see my place. They haven't looked as bad since my old academy days."

"Is there something on your mind?" she asked, stepping over bits of debris.

"Yes, but you're not going to like it."

"That's never stopped you before." She picked up her computer and futilely hit a few keys. "Broken."

_Like everything else,_ Chakotay thought. He quickly shook himself into first officer mode. "I'll be blunt. Our strategy's failing. It was a good idea to try and create temporal shielding but it isn't working."

"Not yet, but it will. With every attack we're getting more information about their chronoton weapons." Where was he going with this?

"How many more attacks will it take? Before long, there won't be a ship left to protect." His voice rose a little as he spoke.

_Yeah, no shit._ "We don't have a choice."

Chakotay sucked in his breath and held it a moment before saying, quietly, "Maybe we do."

"Here comes the part I'm not going to like." Kathryn finally gave Chakotay her full attention. _He is **not** going to suggest what I think he is…_

"We should consider leaving the ship behind." Chakotay forced himself to go on, despite wanting to take it back. "Breaking the crew into smaller groups. Escape pods, shuttles, each one with its own course. If all goes well, we'll rendezvous on the other side of Krenim space."

_He did._ "Then what?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but at least we'd be increasing our chances of survival."

Kathryn was still shocked Chakotay was actually suggesting this. "Abandon ship? The answer's no. I'm not breaking up the family, Chakotay. We're stronger as a team. One crew, one ship. The moment we split apart we lose the ability to pool our talents. We become vulnerable. We'll get picked off one by one. Now, I say we make our stand. Together."

Chakotay sighed, relieved. "To be honest, I wasn't too fond of the idea myself."

"As long as Voyager's in one piece, we stay," Kathryn said with finality.

"We stay," Chakotay agreed. He looked down and saw a pretty China teacup. "This looks like it stayed in one piece," he said, picking it up. "Where does this go?"

Kathryn couldn't believe it wasn't crushed. For a moment everything was perfect. "My lucky teacup. Right over here." She took it and went to put it away, but was almost instantly interrupted by Tom's voice over the comm announcing another attack. She set her teacup on her desk, and forgot it in the battle. When she came back later to find it shattered, she wept. For her cup, her ship, and her crew.

* * *

The weeks quickly became a blur of attacks, unfinished damage reports, and more attacks. Everyone was assigned sixteen-hour shifts, but Chakotay was certain Kathryn was working more like twenty-hour shifts. Their quarters were next to each other, yet he hadn't seen her on deck three in nearly a week. He wondered if she ever allowed herself a sonic shower once a day.

But today he was going to be sure she ate, at least. He made arraignments with B'Elanna in advance to get the captain on the bridge at 1500 hours. All he had to do was get her into the ready room where he'd cleaned off the table and set up a candle-lit dinner of emergency rations.

"Computer, where is Captain Janeway?"

"Captain Janeway is in Main Engineering."

Chakotay checked the chronometer. 1459. Well, he'd been fully prepared for them to be a bit late. Kathryn was rarely on time for their dinners when she knew about them; he didn't expect her to be on time for a surprise.

By 1515, B'Elanna and Kathryn were finally en route to the bridge. The climb through the jefferies tubes was, for once, uneventful, and they were there by 1525.

"Captain, may I see you in the ready room?" he asked as he helped her out of the tube.

"Can it wait a couple of hours Chakotay?" Kathryn looked exhausted. She was pale except for the large dark circles under her eyes. He also noticed she was dripping with sweat. The environmental controls in Engineering must be down again. "I'd really like to work on getting life support back on deck nine and then grab a nap."

"Actually, it's rather urgent. B'Elanna, can you handle deck nine life support by yourself?"

"Oh yeah," B'Elanna piped up a little too quickly. "It's really a one-person job at this point."

Kathryn looked suspiciously from her first officer to her chief engineer, and back to her first officer. "I smell a conspiracy."

Chakotay smiled. "If we're conspiring, it's for your own good." He put his arm around her shoulders and gently directed her towards the ready room. "Come on, B'Elanna can handle it."

Kathryn shook her head in defeat. But as they approached the door, she said, "This had better be–"

She stopped abruptly when she saw her ready room. The debris had all been pushed to one side of the room and the coffee table had actually been washed. There were three candles on the center of the table with a small plate of rations and a glass of water on either side.

"It's not exactly a three-course meal," Chakotay said, smiling, "but unless I'm mistaken, it's more than you've eaten in two days."

"Actually," Kathryn chuckled dryly as they walked over to the couch, "it's probably more like three or four. But I've lost count." She realized it might have even been longer than that when she bit into a ration bar and was immediately sure she'd never tasted anything as wonderful in her life.

They sat in silence for a while. Kathryn ate slowly at first, so as not to make herself sick.

"It's time to condense crew quarters," she said.

Chakotay blinked at the random statement, but waited for her to explain.

"I was thinking earlier, it seems like we lose another deck everyday." Kathryn's voice was bitter and angry. "If we move everyone to just a few decks, it might be easier to maintain." She paused a moment. "I also thought this should apply to the senior staff as well. At least one roommate for each of us."

"I can arrange it. Any roommate requests?" _Because I certainly know who I'd like to request…_ Chakotay quickly pushed the some-what lecherous thought out of his head.

Kathryn swallowed her last ration bar quickly. "Actually, if you want to move a couple people into my quarters, I can sleep here." She put her feet up on the table and leaned back, allowing herself to relax for the first time in as long as she could remember. "Now that the cleaning I've been neglecting in here is done." She smiled at Chakotay.

"If I let you do that, you'll never sleep anymore."

She blinked slowly at her cup, not acknowledging Chakotay's statement. Her eyelids were feeling very heavy at the moment.

"Kathryn?"

She took a deep breath and looked up at her first officer. _Now or never Kathryn. Might as well go for it._ "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Oh?"

"You…you've been a very good friend Chakotay. And an exemplary first officer. And I've asked things of you that…Thank you Chakotay. Thank you for everything."

Chakotay silently let out the breath he'd been holding. He sat up to face Kathryn and reached out a hand he really wanted to place on her cheek, but settled for her shoulder. "I'm always here for you, Kathryn. Whatever you need, whenever you need it."

Kathryn smiled and wrapped her hand over the top of his. _I'm a coward,_ she realized.

In one fluid moment, she put her cup back on the table, moved closer to Chakotay, and settled back in the couch.

Chakotay looked into her blue eyes and returned her warms smile. He was certain he'd have no choice but to kiss her if one of them didn't speak soon.

"Well, then, lunch is over. Time to get back to work." _I am an enormous coward._ Kathryn spoke first and started to get up, mentally cursing herself.

But Chakotay held onto her, not allowing her to walk away. "Take a nap Kathryn. I can keep an eye on the ship for a while."

"Chakotay, there's – "

He gave her a tug so she fell back onto the couch and then stood up over her. "I just told you I'd be here for whatever you need. Right now you need sleep. No one will disturb you for the next eight hours."

"Eight? No way. Two hours."

"Six hours."

"Four hours and I'll eat another meal today."

"Deal."

She had been furious when she woke up and realized he'd let her sleep for ten hours.


	3. Chapter 3

"So what were the candles all about?"

"Pardon?"

"Three weeks ago, when you 'made' me lunch. You had candles set up. Why was that? I've been meaning to ask."

Kathryn and Chakotay were crawling through jefferies tubes trying to track down a couple of gel packs that were causing quite a problem in Engineering. For some reason these particular gel packs felt the correct temperature in Main Engineering should be absolute zero, making it impossible to enter without a space suit. However, the sensors were on the fritz, so all the gel packs on three decks needed to be checked manually.

Chakotay shrugged though Kathryn couldn't see, as she was climbing up ahead of him. "I found them when I was attempting to clean my quarters and thought they'd be a nice touch."

"They were," Kathryn agreed, distracted.

They fell into a comfortable silence. For his part, Chakotay was battling with himself. He'd felt there was something more Kathryn had wanted to say that day, but stopped herself. He spent the past three weeks wondering what that thing was.

When they reached the hatch signaling the intersection with the next deck of horizontal tubes they needed to get into. Kathryn typed a command into the key pad beside the door. When nothing happened, she tried again, and then finally punched the door in frustration.

"Problems?" Chakotay asked.

"The door's stuck." She punch it again, harder, and this time felt a pain shoot through her hand and wrist as the skin on her knuckles cut away from the underlying tissue. "Wonderful," she said sarcastically.

"Move over Kathryn, let me help." Without objection, Kathryn moved as far over on the ladder as she could to give Chakotay room to climb up. As he came to eye level with her, they both became very aware of the closeness of their bodies. He glanced at her hand long enough to see how bad it was, then set to work on the door. It took a bit of effort, but he eventually got it open.

"Let me see that now," he said, gesturing to her hand.

"It's fine Chakotay, let's find those gel packs." She was pressing her knuckles into her hip, trying to put pressure on them before they bled everywhere. She attempted to continue climbing up and found her way blocked by her first officer.

"Let me see Kathryn," he insisted. She felt a bit insulted at being addressed as a child instead of a superior officer and told her as much with her glare. Still, she reluctantly brought her hand up for him to see and painfully spread her fingers.

Wordlessly, he tore a bit of cloth from his jacket and wrapped it firmly around her knuckles, tying it off on the top of her hand so it wouldn't interfere with her working. Kathryn felt her breath coming in more sharply and her skin was tingling where he touched her.

"Chakotay, I…" For some reason, Kathryn Janeway, the daughter of a Starfleet admiral, Captain of the only Federation ship in the Delta Quadrant, couldn't find her voice. Chakotay was staring in her eyes and his hand had traveled from hers to her cheek. His thumb softly caressed her cheekbone just below her left eye, then traveled around and behind her neck.

Kathryn never knew later if he pulled her head toward him or if she moved voluntarily. She only knew that when their lips first lightly brushed each other, her body was filled from head to toe with an intense electricity she'd never felt before when kissing anyone. It made her feel an almost feral hunger. She thought Chakotay must've felt it too, because they both intensified their kiss, with all the probing tongues and nibbling teeth associated with a couple releasing their pent up passions.

Kissing on a ladder or in a tube can be tricky enough, but, as Kathryn and Chakotay quickly found out, combining the two makes it all the trickier. They broke apart when they first felt their balance begin to falter. They were breathing significantly harder than before.

"What time are you off duty?" Kathryn asked quietly.

"2100."

"2100 hours in my ready room?"

Chakotay smiled and pretended he didn't understand it as a question. "Is that an order Captain?"

Kathryn opened her mouth, then snapped it shut when she saw his smile. Chakotay couldn't help but laugh when she snapped her head around and climbed into the jefferies tube above.

"Kim to the Captain," Kathryn's comm badge chirped as they finally found the corrupt gel packs.

"Janeway here, what is it Harry?" Couldn't the universe give her a break for once?

"Seven's found an undetonated warhead in the tubes on your deck. Tuvok thinks internal force fields will hold, but he thought you'd still want to evacuate."

"Thanks Harry. Captain to all hands: Evacuate jefferies tubes decks ten through twelve." She turned to look at Chakotay. "That includes you Commander. I'll be along as soon as I get this…" her voice trailed off as she quickly worked on one of the gel packs.

"We'll get it done quicker if we both do it." He took the other gel pack. They quickly corrected the problems and climbed out onto deck eleven.

* * *

"If we attempt to dislodge the torpedo or move it with the transporters it will most likely detonate."

"Can we disarm it?" Seven asked.

Tuvok quickly glanced at his tricorder. "No. The warhead is already destabilizing. I estimate it will explode in less than two minutes. If we re-route emergency power to this junction and erect a level ten force field it should be enough to contain the explosion. We must hurry."

Seven typed rapidly on her own tricorder. "If I can determine the exact temporal variance of this torpedo it will help us perfect the temporal shielding."

"There is no time."

"We may never have this opportunity again."

"I am giving you an order. Now!" He grabbed Seven's arm and began to pull her away.

The former drone was no match for the Vulcan's strength, but she didn't turn her attention away from her tricorder. "The temporal variance is one point four seven microseconds."

"Excellent work, but if you disobey my orders again I will be forced to –" The exploding torpedo prevented Seven from hearing what her future punishment would be.

* * *

At 2200, Kathryn finally dragged herself to her ready room and fell on the couch. Chakotay quietly watched her and replicated a glass of water. He handed it to her and sat down much closer than usual. Past experience left him expecting her to get up or move over, to some how put distance between them. But to his delighted surprise, she leaned in and rested her head on his chest.

"How's Tuvok?" he asked quietly. She was an hour late because she'd spent it in the Mess Hall with her friend.

"He's…he'll be all right. But the explosion's left him blind. The Doctor just doesn't have the time or the resources to repair the damage."

Chakotay wrapped his arms around her chest and laid his head on the top of hers. He didn't think there was anything to be said to comfort her, so they just sat there for a long while.

"Chakotay, we need to talk," she said finally.


	4. Chapter 4

_Here it comes,_ he thought. He released her from his embrace and sat up. Kathryn stood up and paced around the room before standing directly in front of him. She squatted down so they were at eye level. Chakotay steeled himself for the worst.

"I've asked a lot of you the past four years Chakotay. I've asked you to wait for me, even if it was never in those exact words."

"Kathryn, I gladly – "

_Please let me finish_, her eyes pleaded. Chakotay nodded and she continued.

"If the last months have taught me anything, it's that all my reasons I gave myself were just excuses. The crew wouldn't respect us, we'd make it back home in time to have a life together, it would be an unconceivable breach of protocol…" Kathryn sighed. "But they're just excuses, and not very good ones at that. This crew is too much, too close of a family for us to lose their respect by being happy. And life is just too damn short to spend it pining for some far-off day when everything will be perfect."

"And the protocols?"

Kathryn laughed and sat down next to Chakotay. "The protocols are the protocols, they won't change. But maybe, just maybe, _some_ protocols have to be broken sometimes."

Chakotay gasped in mock horror.

She, in turn, chuckled. Then Kathryn took Chakotay's hand in hers and looked at him solemnly. "The fact of the matter is I care about you Chakotay. You mean a great deal to me as a first officer and a friend. I've made you wait a long time, but I'm here now if you'll have me."

Chakotay had the incredible urge to kiss her and love her right then and there on that dirty, beaten couch. Instead he merely nodded somberly and looked at the ground as he said, "I'll have to think about it. He was so convincing, he caught Kathryn my surprise when he quickly pulled her body against his and kissed her.

Kathryn felt pure joy and the electricity tingling her body like before. This was right. This was good. Better than good; this was amazing.

"There have to be some boundaries," she whispered when they finally broke apart.

"Of course," he said, not letting her go. His mind was soaking up the exquisite sensation of there skin to skin contact and he didn't want to let that go. Even if it was only his hand on her bare shoulders. "It wouldn't do to have the ship endangered by clouded judgments and inappropriate displays."

Kathryn's startling blue eyes met his rich chocolate ones. "You understand," she said happily.

"My dear Kathryn," he said gently, "this angry warrior is still dedicated to his warrior princess's happiness."

Kathryn couldn't put her happiness into words. True, her ship was calling apart, her crew was in dire straits, and some hostile aliens wanted to blow them out of existence, but for the very briefest of moments, so brief she didn't consciously recognize it, none of that mattered.

"Our personal relationship needs to remain off-duty. That's basically what it boils down to. No displays of affection while one or both of us is on duty. No interfering with each others' jobs. Nothing less than a complete separation of business and personal. If we're going to pursue a relationship, we owe no less to the ship and the crew."

"I agree one hundred percent."

Kathryn laughed and kissed him before he knew what hit him.

* * *

_Captain's log, Stardate 51268.4. This morning's attack destroyed the power grid on deck eleven. No casualties this time but the replicator system was badly damaged. We've gone to emergency rations. As a result, the situation has gotten a little worse. Environmental controls continue to fail. Seven decks have been rendered uninhabitable and we've had to relocate the crew. Quarters are close, nerves are frayed, and I'm not sure what's more difficult to maintain - Voyager's systems or the crew's morale. What's important is that we're together working toward a single goal. Survival._

Kathryn sat engulfed in her work. Everyday there was something new to be repaired and everyday she found herself eating and sleeping less. She hadn't even seen Chakotay in…three days? Four? Who knew any more? There were too many repairs, too many wounded, too much to be done to worry about time passing by. The irony of that thought wasn't lost on her.

"Happy birthday."

"Happy what?" The very object of Kathryn's thoughts was suddenly in front of her. She blinked, thinking her lack of sleep was causing her to hallucinate.

"Today is May 20th," he said, smiling.

"Is it? I thought we were still in April. Guess I've lost track of the time."

"Well this should help." Chakotay presented an antique silver pocket-watch.

"It's beautiful," Kathryn said, taking it to look at.

"Nineteenth century, mechanical movement. It's a replica of the chronometer worn by Captain Cray of the British Navy, His ship was hit by a typhoon in the Pacific. Everyone back in England thought they were killed but eight months later Cray sailed his ship into London harbor. There wasn't much left of it, a few planks, half a sail, but he got his crew home."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't keep this," she said as she handed it back. "Recycle it. Can't afford to waste energy on nonessentials."

His smile fell and she knew he was hurt. "Kathryn, I replicated this months ago. I've been saving it. I wanted you to have it."

" That watch represents a meal, a hypospray, or a pair of boots. It could mean the difference between life and death one day.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: It was brought to my attention I stopped mid-scene with yesterday's update. _evil grin_ How mean of me…hopefully you'll find today's update more than makes up for it.**

"Report!" Kathryn barked before she had both feet back on deck.

"Three Krenim warships on an intercept course," Harry answered.

To both the Captain and Commander's surprise, Tuvok entered the bridge from the turbo lift. Chakotay made a mental note to ask B'Elanna when those came back online. "Weapons status?" he asked Tuvok once the Vulcan had activated this tactile interface and had a chance to get acclimated.

"Phasers are still online. Torpedo launchers are still inoperative," Tuvok answered.

"The Krenim are within visual range," Tom reported.

"On screen," Kathryn said.

"Seven's modified temporal shields should be online in a moment," Tuvok told the Captain.

"It's a warship," Harry confirmed of the image before them.

"You know the routine," Kathryn said tiredly.

"Evasive maneuvers," Tom replied in a lazy sort of way, but he'd already begun punching commands into the helm.

Harry shook his head. "They're matching course."

Everyone felt his or her adrenaline rising steadily. "Hold them off as long as you can," Chakotay said, his voice rising a bit. "Bridge to Seven of Nine. Where are those shields?"

"Stand by," Seven replied over the comm.

"They're charging weapons," Harry announced.

"Seven," Kathryn said at a volume about that of her normal one, "we could use a little of that Borg efficiency right about now."

"I can't shake them!" Tom cried.

"They're targeting the bridge!" Harry yelled.

"Temporal shielding is online." _How the hell could Seven sound so calm?_ Kathryn wondered.

"They're firing!"

"Full port thrusters!" Chakotay ordered.

The shot came at them. Kathryn put her hand over Chakotay's and looked him in the eyes. The ship rocked slightly, but they were still alive.

"Temporal shields are holding. No damage," Tuvok reported.

Kathryn smiled at Chakotay and stood up. "Hail them."

"Channel open."

"Krenim vessels, this is the Captain of _Voyager_. You may have noticed we have a defense against your torpedoes now. I suggest you stand down."

"No response," Tuvok said after a few moments of silence.

Kathryn puckered her lips slightly and clicked her tongue. "Their mistake. Bring the ship about. We're going through their space whether they like it or not."

Tom laid in the course.

"Captain, the Krenim warship is in pursuit, but their weapons are not powered," Tuvok said.

Kathryn smiled a true smile for the first time in days. "They don't know what to do with us now that we're shielded against their torpedoes."

Something suddenly began beeping at the operations console. "Captain, there's some kind of spatial distortion heading toward us. Sensor readings are erratic. I can't identify the phenomenon," Harry reported.

Chakotay turned to his monitor. "What's the source?"

"Unknown, but it originated approximately twenty light years from our position. It looks like a shock wave in the fabric of space-time."

"Tom, get us out of here," Kathryn ordered.

Tom glanced at the sensor information on the helm. "We'll never out run it, Captain."

"Maybe our new shields will help," she said to no one in particular. "All hands, brace for impact!"

The ship shook a bit, but not so much that anyone was jostled out of their chairs or hurt.

Harry saw the sensor information coming in, but didn't believe it until he looked up at the view screen.

"You were correct, Captain. The temporal shielding has protected us. The wave front has passed." Harry heard Tuvok speaking, but it sounded so far away.

"Captain," he finally managed the gasp out.

Everyone almost synchronously turned their heads to the view screen, and then almost synchronously allowed their jaws to fall.

"Report," Chakotay said.

"It's definitely a Krenim ship," Harry replied. "Identical hull markings, same bio-spectral frequency, but it's half the size. Limited fire power."

"What happened to the warship?" the Captain asked.

"I'm not picking it up on long-range sensors," Tom answered.

"It looks like this entire part of space has changed somehow," Chakotay looked up at Kathryn from his monitor. "The last time I checked, this region was filled with Krenim colonies and vessels. I just ran a scan and sensors show no colonies and just a handful of Krenim ships."

"Harry, transfer all your sensor data about that shock wave to the Astrometrics Lab," Kathryn said as she headed for the turbo lift.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Tell Seven of Nine to meet me there."

"Captain," Chakotay stood up, "Astrometrics took heavy damage a few days ago. It's offline."

"Well let's get it back online. It appears that the Krenim Imperium has vanished. Our troubles could be over and I'd like to find out why."

* * *

Chakotay hadn't been kidding when he said Astrometrics took heavy damage. It had been three days since Kathryn ordered it a priority repair, and there still weren't close. 

Which was probably why Chakotay found her in there sleeping, tools still clutched in her hands. He chuckled softly as he took in the beautiful woman. Her auburn hair looked as thought it hadn't been brushed in days, she was pale save for the dark circles under her eyes, and her uniform was becoming increasingly looser on her. But to Chakotay, she was as beautiful as ever.

He gently put his hands on her hunched over shoulders and leaned down until his breath tickled her ears. "Kathryn," he said softly. "Kathryn, why don't you come to bed?"

Kathryn moaned and stirred before opening her eyes. She smiled when she saw Chakotay and blinked several times. "How long?"

"I'm not sure. At least an hour. If you come to bed, you'll get better sleep."

Kathryn sat up a cleared her throat. "As tempting as that is, I have a lot of work to do."

Chakotay sighed. "Kathryn." When she looked up, he took the tools out of her hands and pulled her to her feet. Encircling her waist in his arms, he lowered his lips down to hers. It was their first kiss in several days, and the built up passion was _almost_ enough to match that very first kiss in the jefferies tube.

"What did we say about displays of affection while we're on duty?" Kathryn asked teasingly when the need for oxygen broke them apart. She didn't pull away from him, just enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her.

"I happen to know you've been off duty for two hours now. I also know B'Elanna and Seven both agree Astrometrics can't be back any earlier than the day after tomorrow no matter what. _And_ I know there's a certain high-ranking officer who's sorely missed the warmth of his beautiful woman sleeping in bed next to him. So, shall I make a spectacle and carry you, or will you come willingly?"

"Oh, so I'm _your_ woman now, am I?"

"You're damn right you are," he said without hesitation, kissing her again.

"Well, in that case," she gave him several quick kisses on the lips, "how can I refuse?"

The sight of the Captain and Commander walking down the corridor with his arm around her waist didn't draw looks because the crew was unaware of their relationship – indeed, while they'd decided against making a spectacle of it by making a formal announcement, the news had a way of spreading itself – but because such a blatant display of affection outside the ready room or Chakotay's quarters was unheard of. Kathryn was well aware of this, and found it slightly amusing.

Chakotay fully expected Kathryn to curl up in bed right away and fall asleep quickly after a softly murmured conversation. Instead, she lowered herself slowly onto her back and looked up, lost in her mind.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked her.

Kathryn looked at him with a wild smile on her face and answered him with a kiss. His one hand tangled in the auburn hair on the back of her head and the other slid up and over her hip to rest on the small of her back.

But it wasn't there for very long before Kathryn gently took it and slowly slid it up her side and around to her front so that it encased her breast.

Chakotay's eyes popped open and her broke his lips from hers. Yet, before he had a chance to ask the question plainly written on his face, he got his answer. Kathryn ran her nails along the inside of one still-clothed thigh from knee to crotch. She smiled when she felt his arousal and gave it a small but very pleasurable squeeze.

They wordlessly made love for the first time that night.

The old adage of sex being like riding a bike proved true for both of them, despite four years of celibacy on both their parts. Their bodies fit perfectly as if they were made for each other; his phallus filled her womanhood in such a way that every nerve was touched and teased. Their climaxes – there were several that night – came together or within moments of each other. Kathryn had never completely bought the idea of everyone having a soul mate, someone they were destined to be with. But as she laid tangled in bed with the now sleeping Chakotay, drifting off to the happy sleep only a night of blissful love-making can induce, she found herself having second thoughts on that stance.


End file.
